Bolt-cutter



. M.D'. mmm; A BOLT GUTTER'. A l No. l511,441'. .Patentedf'D-ec.. 26, 1a93.

.l WITNESSES i {JWNZ'OR Mw/. A

' arent raros.

MICHEL D. LUEHRS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 511,441, dated December 26, 1893.

Anplication filed August 16, 1893. Serial N0.483,2'78. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.;

1 3@ it known that I, MICHEL D. LUEHRS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented lcertain new and useful Improvements in Bolt-Cutters; and I- do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements vin bolt cutters of the class wherein radial movement of the dies is eifected by the sliding on the barrel of a die ring having inclined grooves or ribs With which the dies engage; an example of which class of bolt cutters is shown in the patent to myself, No. 268,508, dated December 5, 1882.

The object of the invention is to increase the efliciency of the apparatus and the ease of operating the same, and it consists in the `construction, arrangement and combination of parts to accomplish those objects.

In the drawings Figure l representsa longitudinal section through a bolt cutting head embracing my invention; Fig. 2 is a frontend elevation of the same, in which the broken line -y indicates the plane of section shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the clutchring and toggle connection thereof to the diering. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section in the same plane as Fig. l, showing t-he position of the parts when the dies are retracted to clear the bolt and permit its withdrawal. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line ,e-z of Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a detached view of the sliding adjusting-block F, by means of which `the depth of cut is regulated and varied at will.

A represents the barrel or body of the head, having at its front end radial slots in which the dies B move, being held therein by the face-plate K secured to the front end of the barrel.

C is the die-ring, sliding on the barrel which it smoothly fits, and having internal rearwardly inclined grooves c in which slide the similarly inclined shoulders b formed on the dies or die-caps. A

N is the clutch-ring, operated in the usual manner by a handle (not shown) which engages the groove n in the clutch-ring, the latter sliding smoothly on the barrel A, and actuating the die-ring C in the manner presently to be described. t

In most bolt-cutters now in use the movement of the die-ringis edected by a rocking lever or dog pivoted in the barrel and either connected to or bearing directly or indirectly upon the die-ring. A structure of this type is shown in my former patent above mentioned. n

In practice it is found that in time the clutch-ring, as Well as the lever or dog, Wears by use, causing some lost motion; furthermore the friction of the clutch-ring on the lever or dog increases the powerl required to operate the bolt cutter, and especially in that form of bolt-cutter in which the rocking lever, connected by a link to the die-ring, is arranged to have its forward end forced down to or below a line joining the pivots, so as to eleot what is called a toggle lock of the die ring in the closed position, in which case the power required to be exerted upon the back end of the lever or dog to open the toggle lock is considerable, and is exerted at a disadvantage, as it is resisted at rst by the greatest friction as Well as by the greatest power of the toggle. By myipresent invention I retain the toggle lock but dispense With the lever and thus avoid entirely the friction of the clutchring on the lever, and I apply the povver to open the toggle lock in the most effective direction, viz: at a right angle to the line joining the pivots of the toggle. In this manner I almost entirely obviate friction and greatly reduce the power required to operate the cut-f ter, thereby facilitating the Work and increasing the output in a given time, and I accomplish this by the means which I Will now prooecd to describe. To the die-ringC are pivoted one or more links D by a pin e, and alink or links L, pivotally secured to the barrel,are pivoted to the links D, forming a toggle which, when the three pivots are brought into line, as shown in Fig. l, locks the die-ring in the closed position. The clutch-ring N is connected to the toggle by a link or links M, piv oted at their upper ends to the ring, preferably to a forward extending lug o thereon, bythe pivot 10, and at their lower ends pivoted on the common pivot'r which joins all the links together. It Will be seen vthat moving the clutchring forward will extend the toggle and force ICO forward the die-ring, th us closing the dies and locking the die-ring in position, while moving the clutch ring backward will cause the lilik M to pull directly in the line of least resistance, and will open the toggle and bring the parts into the open position shown in Fig. 4 with the least possible expenditure of power, and hence with a saving of time.

As it is desirable to have the extent of movement of the die-ring, and consequently ofthe dies, adjustable, I provide one or both ends of the toggle with a movable bearing whereby the relation of the pivotal points at the extremities ot' the toggle to the barrel or diering, or both, may be varied. This is preferably accoinplished'by pivoting thelink L to a block F, itting in a recess Gr in which it has longitudinal movement in the barrel A, and threading into the block' F a screw I-I having bearing in the barrel and extending through the face plate K, so as to be readily accessible. Obviously by turning the screw II the block F will be moved longitudinally in the barrel, and will thus govern the extent of forward movement of the die-ring and the depth of the cut.

Two, three, or any desired number of the toggle connections of the die-ring to the barrel may be used, according to the power required for the work to be doneg'in nearly all cases two, diainetrically opposite each other, will be suiiicient.

lVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a bolt-cutter head the combination with the barrel and the die-rin g sliding thereon, of a toggle connecting the barrel and diering, a clutcli-rng sliding on the barrel, and alink pivoted at one end to the cluteh-ring and at the other to the center Joint of the toggle, substantially as described.

2. In a bolt-cutter head the combination with the barrel and the die-ring sliding thereon, of a toggle adj ustably connecting the barrel and die-ring, a clutch-ring sliding on the barrel, and a link pivoted at one end to the clutch-ring and at the other to the centei-Joint of the toggle, substantially as described. U

3. In a bolt-cutter head the combination with the barrel and the die-ring sliding thereon, of a toggle having immovable pivotal connection to the die-ring and movable pivotal connection to the barrel, a clutch-ring sliding on the barrel, and a link pivoted at one end to the clutch-ring and at the other tothe center joint ot the toggle, substantially as described.

Il. In a bolt-cutter head the combination with the barrel and the die-ring slidingthereon, of the link D pivoted to the die-ring, the link L pivoted to a block sliding in the b arrel,an adjusting screw engaging said sliding block and having bearing in the barrel, a clutch-ring sliding on the barrel, and a link pivoted at one end to the clutch-ring and at the other by a common pivot to the links D and L, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix in y signaturein presence of two witnesses.

. MICHEL D. LUEI-IRS.

Witnesses:

DANIEL M. LUEHRs, WM. G. TAYLOR. 

